


Protect

by LazarusII



Series: Tron One-Shots [2]
Category: Tron (Movies), Tron - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Part of Tron 1982, Ram Makes a Choice, Sacrifice, Yeah HQ Fic Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25476835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazarusII/pseuds/LazarusII
Summary: Ram comes to a realization… and makes a choice.
Relationships: Kevin Flynn & Ram
Series: Tron One-Shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757335
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	Protect

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lobster_emoji](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lobster_emoji/gifts).



> This is an exchange fic for the amazing Lobster!  
> Prompt: "Rewrite any scene from 82 from the perspective of the programs instead of Flynn."
> 
> Had to bend canon a bit to make this work!  
> Hope you enjoy :))

The rocky terrain was dark beneath the lightcycle as Ram guided it along the treacherous mountainside. His core was spinning, anxiety biting at his circuitry as he followed Tron and Flynn. 

His eyes narrowed as Flynn’s vehicle wavered slightly, drifting momentarily toward the edge of the cliff. 

_ That  _ couldn’t happen. 

He pinged a warning through their limited comms. 

Flynn course-corrected almost instantly. 

They’d already accomplished the near-impossible task of escaping the MCP’s compound, and Ram wasn’t about to let a simple slip up like driving off a cliff stop them now. 

He breathed a sigh of relief when they finally turned into a narrow side passage. As the channeled edges of code surrounded them, Ram let himself slump slightly against the controls. 

They had cover-- _ finally.  _

Of all things, why did he hate driving through terrain so much?  _ This  _ terrain, at any rate. 

A return ping came from Flynn. 

Ram’s core spun slightly faster and his eyes flicked up at the reddish-gold lightcycle in front of him. 

At first, when they’d initially been trying to escape the MCP’s cannon fire, Ram had felt Flynn’s presence--so to speak. Tron had pinged them all on an open channel, communicating where he intended to lead them. 

Ram had recognized Flynn’s response then, but in all the chaos, had chosen to disregard what he’d felt. 

Flynn was powerful, his energy blinding and unmuted. To Ram, it had nearly overwhelmed his sensors. Only a small sliver of his processor had managed to keep his grip on the lightcycle’s steering stable. 

A part of him wondered if Tron had felt it too. He was almost positive that the program had. 

But if Flynn wasn’t a program, then what was he? 

A part of Ram already knew the answer… But he just told himself that he was being silly. 

Users couldn’t exist--

Could they? 

Ahead of the three lightcycles, the code began to separate. The deep channel they’d been following was ending, spitting them right back out into the open. 

Ram pushed back a terrible sense of dread. 

Tron pinged that they should be careful. 

He seconded that without hesitation. 

Core spinning with nervous anticipation, Ram followed Tron and Flynn onto the mountainside. Something was going to happen, he could feel it in every circuit in his body. 

Ram felt the rumbling in the steering of his lightcycle long before the loud sound of cannonfire filled his audio receptors. 

Tron’s frantic pings told them to make a run for it--or rather  _ drive  _ for it. 

The problem was that there was nowhere to go. 

Eyes wide, Ram felt his steering jerk to the side as a code shattered all around him, spraying both himself and Flynn with small projectiles. 

Flynn’s ping was deafening in his ears, uttering all sorts of unfamiliar terminology which Ram had never encountered before. Tron’s voice was there too, but his presence was dwarfed by the other program’s. 

The ground shook again and Ram shot a glance over his shoulder. The cannon stood out against the rocks, its red MCP circuitry blazing in the semi-darkness. 

His circuits ran cold. 

A white glow was approaching, increasing in size and power with every passing nano. Eyes wide, he pinged frantically, telling the other two to break off--to get away-- 

Tron clearly got the message because the program’s lightcycle promptly doubled in speed, careening out of range.

Flynn, however--

Ram gritted his teeth. 

No matter what happened now, there was no way for either of them to escape the blast radius. 

He closed his eyes. 

_ Flynn, if you are who I think you are…  _

_ I can’t let you derezz.  _

With a snarl, Ram floored the accelerator on his lightcycle, jerking the steering harshly to the left. 

He skidded even as Flynn’s cycle finally lost traction. 

A deafening roar filled the air and Ram’s vision went white. He felt his lightcycle crumple and bend, derezzing on the spot. 

He was falling, blinded and in pain--

_ This is for the Users.  _


End file.
